Calendar
by Sovrani
Summary: A series of drabbles/vignettes that in some way mention significant days of the year. Characters aren't mine unless stated otherwise. Rating may go up. R
1. Christmas Eve

_I haven't posted in forever. I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to get this up 'cause it's Christmas themed. Tis a bit late. Soorreeee T_T  
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_Matt and Todd are mine, I guess. Based on a true story. 300 words._

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**The Gift**

'You know the job I work every Christmas?'

'Dressing up as Santa down at the mall?'

'That's the one. I've been there four years now.'

'Story of your life, Matt.'

'Shove a sock in it and let me finish. I see hundreds of kids every day. But today these twin boys come up to me, right? They must have been, what, ten years old?'

'Get to the point.'

'Fine, Todd, fine. Instead of climbing on my lap and crushing my balls, they just stand there. So I say in my Santa voice: "What do you boys want for Christmas this year?" and instead of asking for a racecar or a dinosaur or something, they say, "We want Arty to ask Holly to marry him."'

'Arty? Holly?'

'Their older brother and his girlfriend. Apparently he's wanted to for ages but he didn't want to get rejected.'

'Wow. What happened?'

'Well, they pointed him out to me. This tall, pale guy, standing next to this absolutely drop-dead gorgeous redhead.'

'Holly?'

'That was her. The kids drag their brother over and I explain to him that they want him to ask this girl to marry him.'

'I bet that went down well.'

'You could tell he wasn't happy. He said all this crap about commitment issues and complications and he's ranting for a bit and then the redhead walks up to us, looking all concerned, and she says, "What's wrong? Did the boys say something?"'

'And?'

'And he looks at her and looks at me and looks at the kids, and then he drops down on one knee and proposes! Right then and there!'

'What did she do?'

'She started crying and stuff. Looked happy as anything. She said yes.'

'And the kids?'

'Their faces just lit up like – well, like Christmas trees.'


	2. Valentine's Day

_Author's Note: Yes, I am still alive. No, I have not given up on this fic. I just wanted to get this up for Valentine's Day, and after this, I'm taking a bit of a break from Artemis Fowl. A recent Kingdom Hearts obsession and the prospect of failing maths has me preoccupied. Don't expect much for a while. Sorry guys._

_Anyway…_

_Characters aren't mine. More evidence that a bodyguard's life is a lonely one. 500 words. _

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**Isabella**

She had taken to making him tea on most nights, when Artemis was at work and she wasn't preoccupied with wedding plans. Her tea was always perfect. Always the right amount of sugar, just enough milk. Artemis hadn't asked her to marry him for nothing.

She placed his tea before him on the coffee table, sighing as she pushed aside the wedding books to make room for her own teacup. He nodded at the books, sipping his tea; perfect, as usual. 'How are the plans going?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Slowly. Angeline wants a traditional wedding and I don't. Artemis just wants to get it over with, so he's not much help.'

Butler smiled and placed his teacup down. 'You two are anything but traditional.'

She smiled too. 'And you have been watching over us since the very beginning. Artemis couldn't have asked for a better best man.'

He removed his glasses and dog-eared the page of his book. In his age, his eyesight had deteriorated. 'I'll always remember the day he confessed his love to you.'

She laughed. 'You could call it that. More like an under-his-breath proposal to take me out to dinner.'

'You must admit, it was a big step for him. He was finally letting someone inside his head.'

'True.'

They fell into a comfortable silence, broken by the crackling of the fire. The house was quiet. The twins, now nearly fifteen, had taken to spending their nights out at friends' houses. Only God knew what they got up to.

'What about you, Butler?' she asked finally. 'Did you ever let anybody inside your head? Did you ever fall in love?'

His smile froze on his lips. 'I did fall in love, once.'

'Really? How old were you?'

'Twenty-three. I was on a job. I followed her across four continents before I finally caught up to her in Israel.'

'Who was she?'

'She was an assassin. I had never even met her before, but the moment I saw her picture I knew that I loved her. Over five months I tracked her down, listening to every conversation she had in that time. I became accustomed to her voice. She was intelligent, funny…'

'Beautiful?'

'Extremely.' He smiled at the picture in his mind's eye.

'What was her name?'

'Isabella. She was Spanish.'

'Did she love you too, Butler?'

'I don't think she even knew my name.'

'But you did see her in person, didn't you?'

'Once. I spotted her sitting at a café when I was on lookout on top of a building. It was Valentine's day.'

She smiled. 'How romantic! Did you talk to her?'

'No.'

She frowned. 'What happened?'

'I shot her. I did what I had been paid to do.'

There was a tinkle of china as she replaced her teacup onto its saucer, a whisper as she reached across the table to gently squeeze his hand. 'I'm so sorry.'

He turned to her, a sad smile spread across his face. 'So am I.'


	3. Mother's Day

_Author's Note: So. Like. Hmm. I wrote this ages ago and I suddenly remembered what day it is. And. Yeah. _

_Characters belong to Eoin. Artemis may be a genius, but he can still be a bit clueless. 200 words.

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**It's The Thought That Counts…**

Artemis was sifting through his many bank accounts when he was interrupted by a snort from Holly. She tried to disguise the snort as a cough but didn't quite manage it.

'Artemis,' she said, 'what's the meaning of this?'

Artemis barely glanced at the unopened box in her hand before turning back to his computer. 'It's my Mother's Day gift for Angeline. I haven't gotten around to wrapping it yet.'

Holly walked up to the desk and placed the box down, deciding to be frank. 'You shouldn't give this to your mother, Artemis.'

He frowned. 'Why not? It came very highly recommended.'

Holly snorted, covering her mouth with a hand. 'I'm sure it did. Do you even know what it is?'

'Of course,' Artemis replied, miffed. 'It's a back massager.'

Holly started laughing. She laughed till she cried and was gripping the desk for support. She wiped a tear from her eye and grinned. 'No, it isn't.'

Artemis frowned down at the box. 'Of course it is. What else could it be?'

Holly cast him a look, still smiling.

It suddenly hit him. Colour bloomed all over his cheeks. 'Oh.'

Holly giggled, patting his shoulder. 'It's the thought that counts.'


End file.
